7 Amazing Facts about Son Doòng Cave - Largest Cave in the World

AMELI JUU November 04, 2020 | 15:05

If you are nature-lover who are always eager to explore the world, let's read this article to gain more knowledge about Son Doòng Cave - the largest cave in the world! We would like to list 5 amazing facts to help you have a closer look at this cave.

Son Doòng Cave. Photo: Khoahoc.tv

1. Hang Son Doòng was discovered by a local resident on a rainy day

In 1991, Ho Khanh a local resident accidentally discovered Son Doong cave when he went into the cave’s entrance to avoid the rain. By 2009 when the expedition of the British Caving Association went to this area, Ho Khanh told them about the Cave.

He rediscovered the cave with difficulty because it is located deep in the jungle with rugged terrain, away from the main road and not be seen with Google Earth. Thanks to the guidance of Ho Khanh, the expedition went deep into the cave to take photographs, measure and collect scientific data.

2. The cave "Son Doòng" can contain a 40 storey building

Hang Son Doong has a width of 150 m, height 200 m and 5 km long. The actual length of the cave is maybe even deeper than scientists had measured. With measured dimensions, Son Doong cave still has passed Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysia (120 m high, 150 m wide, and 2 km long) to be recognized as the largest natural cave in the world.

Son Doong cave is large enough to house an entire New York City block. With sections reaching up to 200m tall and 150m wide and a total measured volume of 38.5 million cubic metres, Son Doong could store about 68 Boeing 777 aircraft. Even this figure may be larger because according to scientists, the most modern facilities of today has not fully explored the real length of this cave, according to the indochinatravelblog.

3. The cave "Son Doòng" is formed from 5 million years ago

According to scientific literature, Son Doong cave formed when river water flows through the Limestone Mountains were buried. Over millions of years, erosion and water currents create a giant tunnel in the ground below the mountains.

4. Diversity of animals and plant’s world are explored in the cave "Son Doòng"

Do Son Doong cave which is formed centuries ago have a beautiful rainforest. This forest is inhabited by the monkey, bats, and crows along with a wide variety of ferns, palms, vines from outside and inside the cave. The lakes, waterfalls, rivers inside also create a diversity of plants.

In particular, the explorers also discovered species of pearl is formed in the process of dripping water.

5. Son Doong cave is called the "Great Wall" of Vietnam

Inside Son Doong Cave is a dazzlingly fabulous image as there are lots of cave stretches about 91.44m wide and 243.84m high, which is large enough for a 40-story building in New York, according to Carten Peter with his photos taken in May 2010. Hence, the splendor and grandeur of the cave makes it “The Great Wall of Vietnam” (quite similar to the Chinese name “the Great Wall of China”).

6. Son Doong cave owns a “pearl” as big as a baseball

Another special thing of Son Doong cave is the system of stalactites and giant cave "pearl". Over millions of years under the influence of external forces, Son Doong owns the 70-meter high stalagmite column.

It is also found these cave "pearls" (alabasters wrap pearl-like seeds of the sea, the main component is calcite), which are biggest in the world.

Typically, this type of “pearl” only has a diameter of about 1 centimeter, but in Son Doong cave, it is as big as a baseball, as reported by Vietnam Discovery.

7. Why just a few tourists can visit the cave "Son Doòng"?

The reason why just a few numbers of visitor can visit Son Doong cave is to protect the landscape and environment. Currently, the mysterious world of animals and plants within the cave has not yet to be deciphered. So Son Doong cave only welcomes explorers, researchers or biology rather than tourists.

Officially being the largest natural cave in the world, Son Doong Cave in Quang Binh province contains many hidden secrets that scientists still can’t decode. This is a destination which Western tourists are willing to pay $ 3,000 (about 63, 6 million) for a tour but they have to book and wait after 2016 because this tour was fully booked from now.

10 Fascinating Facts about The Library of Congress - World's Largest Library

What do you know about the largest library in the world, Library of Congress? If you are curious about this amazing construction, it is time ...

Facts About Longest River in the world

Despite many arguments about which is the longest river in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the official title belonged to ...